Configuring repeater-assisted communication

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for configuring repeater-assisted communication. One method includes transmitting, from a first network node (“NN”), an indication of repeater-assisted communication to a second NN and a third NN. The method includes transmitting configuration information to the second NN and the third NN. The configuration information includes control information that corresponds to whether the second NN and the third NN are turned on or turned off, the control information corresponding to whether the second NN and the third NN are turned on or turned off is correlated, the control information identifies timing information for the second NN and the third NN, and the timing information indicates whether the second NN and the third NN are expected to transmit a signal received at the second NN and the third NN at a prior time to the first NN and/or a fourth NN based on the configuration information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/560,607, filed on Dec. 23, 2021, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to wirelesscommunications and more particularly relates to configuringrepeater-assisted communication.

BACKGROUND

In certain wireless communications networks, network coverage may belimited. In such networks, repeaters may be used to extend the networkcoverage.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Methods for configuring repeater-assisted communication are disclosed.Apparatuses and systems also perform the functions of the methods. Oneembodiment of a method includes transmitting, from a first network node,an indication of repeater-assisted communication to a second networknode and a third network node. In some embodiments, the method includestransmitting configuration information to the second network node andthe third network node. The configuration information includes controlinformation that corresponds to whether the second network node and thethird network node are turned on or turned off, the control informationcorresponding to whether the second network node and the third networknode are turned on or turned off is correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the first network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information.

One apparatus for configuring repeater-assisted communication includes afirst network node. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes atransmitter that: transmits an indication of repeater-assistedcommunication to a second network node and a third network node; andtransmits configuration information to the second network node and thethird network node. The configuration information includes controlinformation that corresponds to whether a second network node and athird network node are turned on or turned off are correlated, thecontrol information identifies timing information for the second networknode and the third network node, and the timing information indicateswhether the second network node and the third network node are expectedto transmit a signal received at the second network node and the thirdnetwork node at a prior time to the first network node, a fourth networknode, or a combination thereof based on the configuration information.

Another embodiment of a method for configuring repeater-assistedcommunication includes receiving, at a repeater network node, anindication of repeater-assisted communication. In some embodiments, themethod includes receiving configuration information. The configurationinformation includes control information that corresponds to whether afirst repeater node and a second repeater node are turned on or turnedoff are correlated, the control information identifies timinginformation for the second network node and the third network node, andthe timing information indicates whether the second network node and thethird network node are expected to transmit a signal received at thesecond network node and the third network node at a prior time to the anetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

Another apparatus for configuring repeater-assisted communicationincludes a repeater network node. In some embodiments, the apparatusincludes a receiver that: receives an indication of repeater-assistedcommunication; and receives configuration information. The configurationinformation includes control information that corresponds to whether afirst repeater node and a second repeater node are turned on or turnedoff are correlated, the control information identifies timinginformation for the second network node and the third network node, andthe timing information indicates whether the second network node and thethird network node are expected to transmit a signal received at thesecond network node and the third network node at a prior time to the anetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more particular description of the embodiments briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only some embodiments and are not therefore to be considered tobe limiting of scope, the embodiments will be described and explainedwith additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of awireless communication system for configuring repeater-assistedcommunication;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of anapparatus that may be used for configuring repeater-assistedcommunication;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of anapparatus that may be used for configuring repeater-assistedcommunication;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem having two repeaters switched ON/OFF in an alternating fashion;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem having two repeaters switched ON simultaneously to serve one UE;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem having two repeaters switched ON/OFF based on a TX beam;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor configuring repeater-assisted communication; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another embodiment of amethod for configuring repeater-assisted communication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of theembodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, or programproduct. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one ormore computer readable storage devices storing machine readable code,computer readable code, and/or program code, referred hereafter as code.The storage devices may be tangible, non-transitory, and/ornon-transmission. The storage devices may not embody signals. In acertain embodiment, the storage devices only employ signals foraccessing code.

Certain of the functional units described in this specification may belabeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented asa hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration(“VLSI”) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such aslogic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module mayalso be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as fieldprogrammable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logicdevices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in code and/or software for execution byvarious types of processors. An identified module of code may, forinstance, include one or more physical or logical blocks of executablecode which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, orfunction. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need notbe physically located together, but may include disparate instructionsstored in different locations which, when joined logically together,include the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of code may be a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may even be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across several memory devices.Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated hereinwithin modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organizedwithin any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may becollected as a single data set, or may be distributed over differentlocations including over different computer readable storage devices.Where a module or portions of a module are implemented in software, thesoftware portions are stored on one or more computer readable storagedevices.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium may be utilized.The computer readable medium may be a computer readable storage medium.The computer readable storage medium may be a storage device storing thecode. The storage device may be, for example, but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic,micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the storage devicewould include the following: an electrical connection having one or morewires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory(“RAM”), a read-only memory (“ROM”), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (“EPROM” or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (“CD-ROM”), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible mediumthat can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Code for carrying out operations for embodiments may be any number oflines and may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages including an object oriented programming language such asPython, Ruby, Java, Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language,or the like, and/or machine languages such as assembly languages. Thecode may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (“LAN”) or a wide area network (“WAN”), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases“in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughoutthis specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the sameembodiment, but mean “one or more but not all embodiments” unlessexpressly specified otherwise. The terms “including,” “comprising,”“having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,”unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of itemsdoes not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive,unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the”also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics ofthe embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the followingdescription, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples ofprogramming, software modules, user selections, network transactions,database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardwarecircuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however,that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. Inother instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of anembodiment.

Aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference toschematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams of methods,apparatuses, systems, and program products according to embodiments. Itwill be understood that each block of the schematic flowchart diagramsand/or schematic block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theschematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams, can beimplemented by code. The code may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the schematic flowchartdiagrams and/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks.

The code may also be stored in a storage device that can direct acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devicesto function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe storage device produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which implement the function/act specified in the schematicflowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks.

The code may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus orother devices to produce a computer implemented process such that thecode which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatusprovide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams in theFigures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation ofpossible implementations of apparatuses, systems, methods and programproducts according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block inthe schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams mayrepresent a module, segment, or portion of code, which includes one ormore executable instructions of the code for implementing the specifiedlogical function(s).

It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in theFigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalentin function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portionsthereof, of the illustrated Figures.

Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in theflowchart and/or block diagrams, they are understood not to limit thescope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or otherconnectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the depictedembodiment. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoringperiod of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depictedembodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagramsand/or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and code.

The description of elements in each figure may refer to elements ofproceeding figures. Like numbers refer to like elements in all figures,including alternate embodiments of like elements.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a wireless communication system 100 forconfiguring repeater-assisted communication. In one embodiment, thewireless communication system 100 includes remote units 102 and networkunits 104. Even though a specific number of remote units 102 and networkunits 104 are depicted in FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art willrecognize that any number of remote units 102 and network units 104 maybe included in the wireless communication system 100.

In one embodiment, the remote units 102 may include computing devices,such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants(“PDAs”), tablet computers, smart phones, smart televisions (e.g.,televisions connected to the Internet), set-top boxes, game consoles,security systems (including security cameras), vehicle on-boardcomputers, network devices (e.g., routers, switches, modems), aerialvehicles, drones, or the like. In some embodiments, the remote units 102include wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness bands, opticalhead-mounted displays, or the like. Moreover, the remote units 102 maybe referred to as subscriber units, mobiles, mobile stations, users,terminals, mobile terminals, fixed terminals, subscriber stations, UE,user terminals, a device, or by other terminology used in the art. Theremote units 102 may communicate directly with one or more of thenetwork units 104 via UL communication signals. In certain embodiments,the remote units 102 may communicate directly with other remote units102 via sidelink communication.

The network units 104 may be distributed over a geographic region. Incertain embodiments, a network unit 104 may also be referred to and/ormay include one or more of an access point, an access terminal, a base,a base station, a location server, a core network (“CN”), a radionetwork entity, a Node-B, an evolved node-B (“eNB”), a 5G node-B(“gNB”), a Home Node-B, a relay node, a device, a core network, anaerial server, a radio access node, an access point (“AP”), new radio(“NR”), a network entity, an access and mobility management function(“AMF”), a unified data management (“UDM”), a unified data repository(“UDR”), a UDM/UDR, a policy control function (“PCF”), a radio accessnetwork (“RAN”), a network slice selection function (“NSSF”), anoperations, administration, and management (“OAM”), a session managementfunction (“SMF”), a user plane function (“UPF”), an applicationfunction, an authentication server function (“AUSF”), security anchorfunctionality (“SEAF”), trusted non-3GPP gateway function (“TNGF”), orby any other terminology used in the art. The network units 104 aregenerally part of a radio access network that includes one or morecontrollers communicably coupled to one or more corresponding networkunits 104. The radio access network is generally communicably coupled toone or more core networks, which may be coupled to other networks, likethe Internet and public switched telephone networks, among othernetworks. These and other elements of radio access and core networks arenot illustrated but are well known generally by those having ordinaryskill in the art.

In one implementation, the wireless communication system 100 iscompliant with NR protocols standardized in third generation partnershipproject (“3GPP”), wherein the network unit 104 transmits using an OFDMmodulation scheme on the downlink (“DL”) and the remote units 102transmit on the uplink (“UL”) using a single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (“SC-FDMA”) scheme or an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (“OFDM”) scheme. More generally, however, the wirelesscommunication system 100 may implement some other open or proprietarycommunication protocol, for example, WiMAX, institute of electrical andelectronics engineers (“IEEE”) 802.11 variants, global system for mobilecommunications (“GSM”), general packet radio service (“GPRS”), universalmobile telecommunications system (“UMTS”), long term evolution (“LTE”)variants, code division multiple access 2000 (“CDMA2000”), Bluetooth®,ZigBee, Sigfoxx, among other protocols. The present disclosure is notintended to be limited to the implementation of any particular wirelesscommunication system architecture or protocol.

The network units 104 may serve a number of remote units 102 within aserving area, for example, a cell or a cell sector via a wirelesscommunication link. The network units 104 transmit DL communicationsignals to serve the remote units 102 in the time, frequency, and/orspatial domain.

In various embodiments, a network unit 104 may transmit, from a firstnetwork node, an indication of repeater-assisted communication to asecond network node and a third network node. In some embodiments, thenetwork unit 104 may transmit configuration information to the secondnetwork node and the third network node. The configuration informationincludes control information that corresponds to whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are turned on or turned off, thecontrol information corresponding to whether the second network node andthe third network node are turned on or turned off is correlated, thecontrol information identifies timing information for the second networknode and the third network node, and the timing information indicateswhether the second network node and the third network node are expectedto transmit a signal received at the second network node and the thirdnetwork node at a prior time to the first network node, a fourth networknode, or a combination thereof based on the configuration information.Accordingly, the network unit 104 may be used for configuringrepeater-assisted communication.

In certain embodiments, a network unit 104 may receive, at a repeaternetwork node, an indication of repeater-assisted communication. In someembodiments, the network unit 104 may receive configuration information.The configuration information includes control information thatcorresponds to whether a first repeater node and a second repeater nodeare turned on or turned off are correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the a network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information. Accordingly,the network unit 104 may be used for configuring repeater-assistedcommunication.

FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of an apparatus 200 that may be used forconfiguring repeater-assisted communication. The apparatus 200 includesone embodiment of the remote unit 102. Furthermore, the remote unit 102may include a processor 202, a memory 204, an input device 206, adisplay 208, a transmitter 210, and a receiver 212. In some embodiments,the input device 206 and the display 208 are combined into a singledevice, such as a touchscreen. In certain embodiments, the remote unit102 may not include any input device 206 and/or display 208. In variousembodiments, the remote unit 102 may include one or more of theprocessor 202, the memory 204, the transmitter 210, and the receiver212, and may not include the input device 206 and/or the display 208.

The processor 202, in one embodiment, may include any known controllercapable of executing computer-readable instructions and/or capable ofperforming logical operations. For example, the processor 202 may be amicrocontroller, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (“CPU”), agraphics processing unit (“GPU”), an auxiliary processing unit, a fieldprogrammable gate array (“FPGA”), or similar programmable controller. Insome embodiments, the processor 202 executes instructions stored in thememory 204 to perform the methods and routines described herein. Theprocessor 202 is communicatively coupled to the memory 204, the inputdevice 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212.

The memory 204, in one embodiment, is a computer readable storagemedium. In some embodiments, the memory 204 includes volatile computerstorage media. For example, the memory 204 may include a RAM, includingdynamic RAM (“DRAM”), synchronous dynamic RAM

(“SDRAM”), and/or static RAM (“SRAM”). In some embodiments, the memory204 includes non-volatile computer storage media. For example, thememory 204 may include a hard disk drive, a flash memory, or any othersuitable non-volatile computer storage device. In some embodiments, thememory 204 includes both volatile and non-volatile computer storagemedia. In some embodiments, the memory 204 also stores program code andrelated data, such as an operating system or other controller algorithmsoperating on the remote unit 102.

The input device 206, in one embodiment, may include any known computerinput device including a touch panel, a button, a keyboard, a stylus, amicrophone, or the like. In some embodiments, the input device 206 maybe integrated with the display 208, for example, as a touchscreen orsimilar touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, the input device206 includes a touchscreen such that text may be input using a virtualkeyboard displayed on the touchscreen and/or by handwriting on thetouchscreen. In some embodiments, the input device 206 includes two ormore different devices, such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

The display 208, in one embodiment, may include any known electronicallycontrollable display or display device. The display 208 may be designedto output visual, audible, and/or haptic signals. In some embodiments,the display 208 includes an electronic display capable of outputtingvisual data to a user. For example, the display 208 may include, but isnot limited to, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), a light emitting diode(“LED”) display, an organic light emitting diode (“OLED”) display, aprojector, or similar display device capable of outputting images, text,or the like to a user. As another, non-limiting, example, the display208 may include a wearable display such as a smart watch, smart glasses,a heads-up display, or the like. Further, the display 208 may be acomponent of a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a television,a table computer, a notebook (laptop) computer, a personal computer, avehicle dashboard, or the like.

In certain embodiments, the display 208 includes one or more speakersfor producing sound. For example, the display 208 may produce an audiblealert or notification (e.g., a beep or chime). In some embodiments, thedisplay 208 includes one or more haptic devices for producingvibrations, motion, or other haptic feedback. In some embodiments, allor portions of the display 208 may be integrated with the input device206. For example, the input device 206 and display 208 may form atouchscreen or similar touch-sensitive display. In other embodiments,the display 208 may be located near the input device 206.

Although only one transmitter 210 and one receiver 212 are illustrated,the remote unit 102 may have any suitable number of transmitters 210 andreceivers 212. The transmitter 210 and the receiver 212 may be anysuitable type of transmitters and receivers. In one embodiment, thetransmitter 210 and the receiver 212 may be part of a transceiver.

FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of an apparatus 300 that may be used forconfiguring repeater-assisted communication. The apparatus 300 includesone embodiment of the network unit 104. Furthermore, the network unit104 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, an input device 306, adisplay 308, a transmitter 310, and a receiver 312. As may beappreciated, the processor 302, the memory 304, the input device 306,the display 308, the transmitter 310, and the receiver 312 may besubstantially similar to the processor 202, the memory 204, the inputdevice 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212of the remote unit 102, respectively.

In certain embodiments, the transmitter 310: transmits an indication ofrepeater-assisted communication to a second network node and a thirdnetwork node; and transmits configuration information to the secondnetwork node and the third network node. The configuration informationincludes control information that corresponds to whether a secondnetwork node and a third network node are turned on or turned off arecorrelated, the control information identifies timing information forthe second network node and the third network node, and the timinginformation indicates whether the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are expected to transmit a signal received at the secondnetwork node and the third network node at a prior time to the firstnetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

In some embodiments, the receiver 312: receives an indication ofrepeater-assisted communication; and receives configuration information.The configuration information includes control information thatcorresponds to whether a first repeater node and a second repeater nodeare turned on or turned off are correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the a network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information.

In certain embodiments, fifth generation (“5G”) new radio (“NR”) extendsnetwork coverage for both uplink and downlink communication. In suchembodiments, the network may be densified by implementing additionalnetwork transceiver nodes; however, the cost of sensifying a network maybe large. Moreover, in such embodiments, integrated access and backhaul(“TAB”) nodes may be used to assist the network with improvingperformance; however, this may also require a large cost. In someembodiments, repeater nodes may be used (e.g., referred to herein as“repeaters”) to help densify a network. The repeater, with the help ofside control information (e.g., timing information, time divisionduplexing (“TDD”) uplink (“UL”) and/or downlink (“DL”) configuration, onsignaling and/or off signaling (“on/off signaling”, “ON/OFF”), spatialbeamforming, transmission configuration indicator (“TCI”) state, spatialtransmit (“TX”) and/or receive (“RX”) relation information, and soforth) from the network, forwards signals received from a network node(e.g., in DL communication) to one or more devices (e.g., userequipments (“UEs”) and/or another repeater) in its communication range,or forwards signals received from one or more devices (e.g., UEs in ULcommunication) in a radio frequency without the need for basebandprocessing of a device's user plane data (e.g., physical downlink sharedchannel (“PDSCH”) and/or physical uplink shared channel (“PUSCH”))channels and/or signals transmitted via either uplink or downlink. Itshould be noted that a repeater may be considered a “smart repeater” ifthe repeater can pursue one of the following processes: adaptivebeamforming, decoding control and/or reference signal configurationinformation from a network node, or transmitting control and/orreference signals to UE nodes.

In various embodiments, there may be multiple approaches correspondingto a system wherein multiple repeaters are configured by a same cell,such as: 1) an enhanced framework for ON/OFF control signalingconfiguration for repeaters is used assuming an existence of multiplerepeaters per cell—repeaters within a cell are turned ON/OFF in analternating manner; 2) a joint transmission approach from two repeatersmay be configured within the same cell that either improves throughput(e.g., via joint transmission) and/or diversity (e.g., via time domainmultiplexing (“TDM”) and/or frequency division multiplexing (“FDM”)transmission); and/or 3) interference management in a cell includingmultiple repeaters, wherein the ON/OFF control information iscoordinated such that no two repeaters that have a strong channel gainfor the same UE can be activated simultaneously. It should be notedthat, in some embodiments, a combination of one or more elementsdifferent embodiments described herein may be made.

In certain embodiments described herein, the following may beassumed: 1) a transmission and reception point (“TRP”) may include TRPs,cells, nodes, panels, communication (e.g., signals and/or channels)associated with a control resource set (“CORESET”) pool, and/orcommunication associated with a TCI state from a transmissionconfiguration comprising at least two TCI states; 2) the term “repeater”may include a smart repeater, a relay, an IAB node, an intermediatenode, and/or a reflecting surface; and/or 3) a UE is triggered orscheduled with one or more downlink control information (“DCI”)transmissions, wherein a multi-TRP scheme may be based on spatialdivision multiplexing (“SDM”) (e.g., scheme 1a), FDM (e.g., schemes 2aand/or 2b), and/or TDM (e.g., schemes 3 and/or 4). It should be notedthat other transmission schemes than those described above are notprecluded. Various embodiments are described herein. It should be notedthat, one or more elements or features from one or more embodimentsherein may be combined.

In a first set of embodiments, there may be an indication ofrepeater-assisted communication.

In a first embodiment of the first set of embodiments, repeater-assistedcommunication (“RAC”) may be indicated via configuring a UE with twoCORESET pool indices, wherein a CORESET (e.g., ControlResourceSet) mayhave a CORESET pool index (e.g., CORESETPoolIndex) indicating one of twoCORESET pool indices values, and two physical downlink control channels(“PDCCHs”) for the UE (e.g., with cyclic redundancy check (“CRC”)scrambled with UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (“RNTI”))in search spaces in the two CORESETs with different CORESET pool indexvalues scheduling a same PDSCH (e.g., same or repetition of PDSCHscheduling assignment in each of the PDCCHs). The two PDCCHs or the twosearch spaces in the two CORESETS with different CORESET pool indexvalues may be linked (e.g., in the case of PDCCH repetition), wherein afirst of the two CORESET pool indexes corresponds to a TRP, and thesecond of the two CORESET pool index corresponds to a repeater.

In a second embodiment of the first set of embodiments, RAC is indicatedvia configuring the UE with a TCI codepoint corresponding to two TCIstates, wherein a first TCI state corresponds to a TRP network node anda second TCI state corresponds to a repeater. In one example, areference signal transmitted from a TRP cannot be quasi-co-located(“QCLed”) with that transmitted from a repeater according to QCL Type-D,wherein QCL Type-D depicts spatial relation quasi-co-location (“QCL”)information.

In a third embodiment of the first set of embodiments, RAC is indicatedvia configuring a UE with a repetition scheme configuration (e.g.,RepetitionSchemeConfig) under either a PDSCH transmission configuration(e.g., PDSCH-Config), a PDCCH transmission configuration (e.g.,PDCCH-Config), a PUSCH transmission configuration (e.g., PUSCH-Config),or a PUCCH transmission configuration (e.g., PUCCH-Config). In oneexample, a scheme (e.g., SDM-Scheme) is used as a new repetition schemefor RAC.

In a fourth embodiment of the first set of embodiments, RAC is indicatedvia configuring a UE within a control information channel or signal(e.g., PDCCH DCI) with a special format, wherein the control informationchannel indicates a set of one or more slots, a set of one or morephysical resource blocks (“PRBs”), a set of one or more bandwidth parts(“BWPs”), or a combination thereof. In a first example, a DCI formatclass (e.g., DCI format 4_x) that is dedicated for PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH,and/or physical uplink control channel (“PUCCH”) repetition with theRAC. In a second example, a DCI format for other purposes (e.g., DCIformat 2_7) is provided (e.g., which can indicate) to the repeaterand/or side control information (e.g., at least one of timinginformation, TDD UL and/or DL configuration, on/off signaling, DL and/orUL TX power, spatial beamforming, TCI-state, spatial TX and/or RXrelation information, and so forth) for one or more repeaters (e.g.,different position in DCI fields may be configured for differentrepeaters indicating a position (e.g., starting, bit) of the sidecontrol information for the indicated repeater within the DCI payload).In another example, a DCI format 2_7 is scrambled with a repeater ID;thus, the repeater needs to apply a DCI search using this ID amongdifferent control channel element (“CCE”) offsets corresponding toconfigured repeaters.

In a second set of embodiments, there may be an ON/OFF repeaterconfiguration. In such embodiments, an enhanced framework for ON/OFFcontrol signaling configuration for repeaters is used assuming anexistence of multiple repeaters per cell, wherein repeaters within acell are configured with ON/OFF in an alternating manner. Moreover, insuch embodiments, there may be a network with two repeaters, with theobjective of turning ON no more than one repeater at a time (e.g., a UEserved by the best of two repeaters), whereas the other repeater shouldbe switched off to avoid power loss and avoid inter-cell interference onother UEs close to the other repeater.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem 400 having two repeaters switched ON/OFF in an alternatingfashion. The system 400 includes a network unit 402 (e.g., gNB), a firstrepeater 404 that communicates with a first remote unit 406 (e.g., UE),and a second repeater 408 that communicates with a second remote unit410 (e.g., UE). A first ON/OFF pattern 412 is signaled to the firstrepeater 404, and a second ON/OFF pattern 414 is signaled to the secondrepeater 408 so that only one repeater is turned ON at a time. Severalembodiments are described herein based on the system 400 in FIG. 4 . Itshould be noted that, a combination of one or more elements of theembodiments described herein may be considered as combined embodiments.

In a first embodiment of the second set of embodiments, a networkincluding K repeaters configures repeater k, where k∈{1, 2, . . . , K}with ON/OFF information configured via side control information. Therepeater k is configured to be turned on/off in an alternating manner(e.g., any two repeaters within a cell are turned ON overnon-overlapping time slots). In one example, repeater k is turned on fora duration of x consecutive symbols every y slots, wherein x, and y arepositive integer values. In such an example, assume the followingnumerical example, wherein K=6, x=10, and y=100. Under this example,Repeater 1 is turned on for slots {[0,9], [100,109], [200,209], . . . };Repeater 2 is turned on for slots {[10,19], [110,119], [210,219], . . .}; Repeater 3 is turned on for slots {[20,29], [120,129], [220,229], . .. }; Repeater 4 is turned on for slots {[30,39], [130,139], [230,239], .. . }; Repeater 5 is turned on for slots {[40,49], [140,149], [240,249],. . . }; and/or Repeater 6 is turned on for slots {[50,59], [150,159],[250,259], . . . }.

In a second embodiment of the second set of embodiments, a repeater isassigned a repeater identifier (“ID”) as part of repeater controlinformation configuring the repeater, wherein a Repeater k is turned onfor intervals [δy+(k−1)x, δy+kx−1], wherein k corresponds to therepeater ID, x represents a number of consecutive slots in which arepeater k is turned on, y represents the periodicity of turning ON theRepeater k (e.g., a time interval between the first slot of twoconsecutive turning ON of the repeater, and δ=0, 1, 2, 3, . . . ). Itshould be noted that the values k, x, and y are either higher-layerconfigured or indicated as part of the repeater control information, orsome combination thereof.

In a third embodiment of the second set of embodiments, ON/OFFconfiguration information may be conveyed to a repeater in a form ofcontrol information. In one example, the control information is in aform of a DCI format (e.g., a new DCI format, DCI format 4).

In a fourth embodiment of the second set of embodiments, ON/OFFconfiguration information is conveyed to a repeater in a form ofhigher-layer configuration information.

In a fifth embodiment of the second set of embodiments, ON/OFFconfiguration information conveyed to a repeater is associated with atime-domain behavior. The time-domain behavior of the ON/OFFconfiguration may be set to either periodic, aperiodic, orsemi-persistent.

In a sixth embodiment of the second set of embodiments, a repeater isconfigured with discontinuous reception (“DRX”) and/or connected modediscontinuous reception (“CDRX”). Moreover, the repeater is configuredwith a DRX cycle, an on duration timer, and/or a DRX inactivity timer.

One example that illustrates a combination of a subset of embodimentsdescribed herein is as follows: 1) step 1: a network pre-configures tworepeaters in the same cell with a repeater ID (e.g., Repeater 0 andRepeater 1); 2) step 2: the network sends a common configuration to bothrepeaters to switch ON at time unit 2r+k, where k represents a repeaterID (k=0 or 1), and r=0, 1, 2, . . . (e.g., Repeater 0 is turned on ateven time frames and Repeater 1 is turned on at odd time frames—aunified ON/OFF configuration formula for both repeaters—in other words,the network configures repeaters with periodic and/or semi-persistentON/OFF switching in an alternating fashion; 3) step 3: Repeater 0forwards signals received at even time frames (e.g., while Repeater 1 isturned off) and Repeater 1 forwards signals received at odd time frames(e.g., while Repeater 0 is turned off).

A third set of embodiments may include configuring a UE withtransmission to and/or reception from multiple repeaters. In suchembodiments, a joint transmission approach from two repeaters configuredwithin the same cell is used that either improves throughput (e.g., viajoint transmission) and/or diversity (e.g., via TDM and/or FDMtransmission). For instance, under non-coherent joint transmission withtwo repeaters configured within the same cell, the two repeaters mayjointly communicate with one UE to transmit two sets of layerscorresponding to at least one codeword.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem 500 having two repeaters switched ON simultaneously to serve oneUE. The system 500 includes a network unit 502 (e.g., gNB), a firstrepeater 504, a second repeater 506, and a remote unit (e.g., UE) 508.Several embodiments are provided herein based on FIG. 5 . It should benoted that, a combination of one or more elements of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be considered as combined embodiments.

In a first embodiment of the third set of embodiments, a networkconfigures two repeaters within a same cell for forwarding signals to asame UE. The signals correspond to two sets of PDSCH layers forwardedvia the two repeaters, and CSI-RS symbols corresponding to two CSI-RSresources are forwarded via the two repeaters.

In a second embodiment of the third set of embodiments, two repeatersare configured to be turned ON simultaneously. The ON/OFF configurationtiming for the two repeaters is the same. In one example, the tworepeaters receive a common ON/OFF configuration information pattern.

In a third embodiment of the third set of embodiments, a UE configuredwith transmission and/or reception to and/or from multiple repeaters isexpected to be configured with a TCI codepoint corresponding to two TCIstates corresponding to demodulation reference signals (“DMRSs”) forPDSCH transmissions from different code division multiplexing (“CDM”)groups.

In a fourth embodiment of the third set of embodiments, a UE configuredwith transmission and/or reception to and/or from multiple repeaters isexpected to be configured with a repetition scheme configurationcorresponding to an FDM scheme or a TDM scheme in a PDSCH configuration,a PDCCH configuration, a PUSCH configuration, and/or a PUCCHconfiguration.

In a fifth embodiment of the third set of embodiments, a UE configuredwith transmission and/or reception to and/or from multiple repeaters isexpected to be configured with a CSI reporting configurationcorresponding to a multi-TRP transmission scheme. A CSI-RS resource setfor channel measurement associated with the CSI reporting configurationis configured with two resource groups and N resource pairs.

In a sixth embodiment of the third set of embodiments, a UE configuredwith reception from multiple repeaters is expected to feed back anindication to a network on a preference of a hypothesis from a set ofmultiple hypotheses. The set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to asingle-point transmission via one repeater corresponding to a singleCSI-RS resource from one resource group, or joint transmission from tworepeaters corresponding to a CSI-RS resource pair from the two resourcegroups. The indication may be in a form of a CSI-RS resource ID.

In a seventh embodiment of the third set of embodiments, if a networkconfigures two repeaters within a same cell for forwarding signals to asame UE, and if the UE is configured with a single-frequency network(“SFN”) scheme for PDSCH, the two repeaters are expected to beconfigured with a same ON/OFF configuration information, and the tworepeaters are configured with different CSI-RS resources configured withtracking reference signal (“TRS”) information. One example thatillustrates a combination of a subset of embodiments described hereinmay include: 1) step 1: a network configures two repeaters with a sameON switching time for joint transmission; 2) a step 2: the networkconfigures a UE with a TCI codepoint corresponding to 2 TCI states(e.g., corresponding to two repeaters), and a CSI reportingconfiguration corresponding to multi-TRP transmission (e.g., 2 CSI-RSresource groups); 3) step 3: the UE reports CSI indicating a besthypothesis (e.g., corresponding to either (i) Repeater 0 only, (ii)Repeater 1 only, or (iii) Joint transmission from both repeaters, e.g.,via reporting a CSI-RS resource ID codepoint that corresponds to onerepeater only (in case of a single-point transmission hypothesis) or aCSI-RS resource ID codepoint that corresponds to two repeaters (in caseof multi-point/joint transmission hypothesis); and/or 4) step 4: thenetwork configures Repeater 0 and/or Repeater 1 simultaneously fortransmission to the UE based on a reported CSI indication.

In a fourth set of embodiments, there may be interference avoidance withmultiple repeaters turned ON. In such embodiments, interferencemanagement in a cell may include multiple repeaters. ON/OFF controlinformation is coordinated such that no two repeaters who have a strongchannel gain to a same UE can be activated simultaneously. It should benoted that adding more repeaters to a cell may have a detrimental impacton network performance since the additional repeaters may increaseinter-cell interference on out-of-cell UEs. For instance, instead ofturning ON/OFF repeaters in a TDM fashion, if the selected TX beamscorresponding to transmission from a network node to the two repeaterswould lead to negligible mutual interference, then both repeaters may beturned on simultaneously; otherwise, both repeaters cannot be turned onsimultaneously.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem 600 having two repeaters switched ON/OFF based on a TX beam ofthe network node. The system 600 includes a network unit 602 (e.g.,gNB), a first repeater 604 that communicates with a first remote unit606 (e.g., UE), and a second repeater 608 that communicates with asecond remote unit 610 (e.g., UE). Multiple beams may be transmittedand/or used by the network unit 602 (e.g., beam 0, beam 1, beam 2, beam3). Several embodiments are described herein based on the system 600 inFIG. 6 . It should be noted that, a combination of one or more elementsof the embodiments described herein may be considered as combinedembodiments.

In a first embodiment of the fourth set of embodiments, if two repeatersconfigured within a same cell are turned ON over partially overlappingtime slots or fully overlapping time slots, the signals forwarded by thetwo repeaters are expected to include different CSI-RS resources. In oneexample, a first of two repeaters within a same cell forwards a signalincluding a first of two CSI-RS resources, and a second of the tworepeaters within the same cell forwards a signal comprising a second ofthe two CSI-RS resources.

In a second embodiment of the fourth set of embodiments, two repeatersconfigured within a same cell whose maximum layer 1 (“L1”)signal-to-interference and noise ratio (“SINR”) (“L1-SINR”) and/or L1reference signal received power (“RSRP”) (“L1-RSRP”) and/or reportedchannel state information (“CSI”) reference signal (“RS”) (“CSI-RS”)resource index (“CRI”) correspond to a same beam (e.g., CSI-RS resource)cannot be configured with ON over overlapping slots (e.g., whether theoverlapping slots are fully overlapping slots or partially overlappingslots) assuming a gNB in the cell is equipped with one panel (e.g., a UEor a repeater configured with this cell cannot have a TCI codepointcorresponding to two TCI states corresponding to QCL Type-D).

In a third embodiment of the fourth set of embodiments, two repeatersconfigured within a same cell report a CRI codepoint per repeater. Inthe third embodiment, each CRI corresponds to a group of two or moreCSI-RS resources, and, if any of the CSI-RS resources in the group ofCSI-RS resources corresponding to a first of the two CRI codepoints areindicated within the group of CSI-RS resources corresponding to a secondof the two CRI codepoints, the two repeaters cannot be configured withON over overlapping slots e.g., whether the overlapping slots are fullyoverlapping slots or partially overlapping slots) assuming a gNB in thecell is equipped with one panel (e.g., a UE or a repeater configuredwith this cell cannot have a TCI codepoint corresponding to two TCIstates corresponding to QCL Type-D).

In a fourth embodiment of the fourth set of embodiments, a repeaterreports control information to the network based on network-basedconfiguration information transmitted to the repeater that comprises atleast one CRI codepoint. The repeater-generated control information maybe in a form of a DMRS-less sequence (e.g., no DMRS symbols areassociated with the reporter-generated control information). One examplethat illustrates a combination of a subset of embodiments describedherein may include: 1) step 1: a network configures two repeaters with aset of 4 beams corresponding to configured CSI-RS resources; 2) step 2:each repeater feeds back a CRI value corresponding to a best TX beam; 3)step 3: if the CRI value reported by both repeaters are not the same(e.g., both repeaters do not share the same TX beam), the network mayswitch ON both repeaters simultaneously; otherwise, the gNB cannot turnon both repeaters simultaneously; and/or 4) step 3′ (e.g., alternate tostep 3): the network may configure each repeater to report a set of thebest n beams (e.g., CRI codepoint corresponds to n CSI-RS resource IDs)or report corresponding L1-RSRP. A first repeater cannot be configuredwith a beam corresponding to the set of best beams corresponding to asecond repeater, or vice versa.

In some embodiments, the terms antenna, panel, and antenna panel areused interchangeably. An antenna panel may be hardware that is used fortransmitting and/or receiving radio signals at frequencies lower than 6GHz (e.g., frequency range 1 (“FR1”)), or higher than 6 GHz (e.g.,frequency range 2 (“FR2”) or millimeter wave (“mmWave”)). In certainembodiments, an antenna panel may include an array of antenna elements.Each antenna element may be connected to hardware, such as a phaseshifter, that enables a control module to apply spatial parameters fortransmission and/or reception of signals. The resulting radiationpattern may be called a beam, which may or may not be unimodal and mayallow the device to amplify signals that are transmitted or receivedfrom spatial directions.

In various embodiments, an antenna panel may or may not be virtualizedas an antenna port. An antenna panel may be connected to a basebandprocessing module through a radio frequency (“RF”) chain for eachtransmission (e.g., egress) and reception (e.g., ingress) direction. Acapability of a device in terms of a number of antenna panels, theirduplexing capabilities, their beamforming capabilities, and so forth,may or may not be transparent to other devices. In some embodiments,capability information may be communicated via signaling or capabilityinformation may be provided to devices without a need for signaling. Ifinformation is available to other devices the information may be usedfor signaling or local decision making.

In some embodiments, a UE antenna panel may be a physical or logicalantenna array including a set of antenna elements or antenna ports thatshare a common or a significant portion of a radio frequency (“RF”)chain (e.g., in-phase and/or quadrature (“I/Q”) modulator, analog todigital (“A/D”) converter, local oscillator, phase shift network). TheUE antenna panel or UE panel may be a logical entity with physical UEantennas mapped to the logical entity. The mapping of physical UEantennas to the logical entity may be up to UE implementation.Communicating (e.g., receiving or transmitting) on at least a subset ofantenna elements or antenna ports active for radiating energy (e.g.,active elements) of an antenna panel may require biasing or powering onof an RF chain which results in current drain or power consumption in aUE associated with the antenna panel (e.g., including power amplifierand/or low noise amplifier (“LNA”) power consumption associated with theantenna elements or antenna ports). The phrase “active for radiatingenergy,” as used herein, is not meant to be limited to a transmitfunction but also encompasses a receive function. Accordingly, anantenna element that is active for radiating energy may be coupled to atransmitter to transmit radio frequency energy or to a receiver toreceive radio frequency energy, either simultaneously or sequentially,or may be coupled to a transceiver in general, for performing itsintended functionality. Communicating on the active elements of anantenna panel enables generation of radiation patterns or beams.

In certain embodiments, depending on a UE's own implementation, a “UEpanel” may have at least one of the following functionalities as anoperational role of unit of antenna group to control its transmit (“TX”)beam independently, unit of antenna group to control its transmissionpower independently, and/pr unit of antenna group to control itstransmission timing independently. The “UE panel” may be transparent toa gNB. For certain conditions, a gNB or network may assume that amapping between a UE's physical antennas to the logical entity “UEpanel” may not be changed. For example, a condition may include untilthe next update or report from UE or include a duration of time overwhich the gNB assumes there will be no change to mapping. A UE mayreport its UE capability with respect to the “UE panel” to the gNB ornetwork. The UE capability may include at least the number of “UEpanels.” In one embodiment, a UE may support UL transmission from onebeam within a panel. With multiple panels, more than one beam (e.g., onebeam per panel) may be used for UL transmission. In another embodiment,more than one beam per panel may be supported and/or used for ULtransmission.

In some embodiments, an antenna port may be defined such that a channelover which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed may be inferred fromthe channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port isconveyed.

In certain embodiments, two antenna ports are said to be quasico-located (“QCL”) if large-scale properties of a channel over which asymbol on one antenna port is conveyed may be inferred from the channelover which a symbol on another antenna port is conveyed. Large-scaleproperties may include one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread,Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and/or spatial receive(“RX”) parameters. Two antenna ports may be quasi co-located withrespect to a subset of the large-scale properties and different subsetof large-scale properties may be indicated by a QCL Type. For example, aqcl-Type may take one of the following values: 1) ‘QCL-TypeA’: {Dopplershift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}; 2) ‘QCL-TypeB’:{Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; 3) ‘QCL-TypeC’: {Doppler shift, averagedelay}; and 4) ‘QCL-TypeD’: {Spatial Rx parameter}. Other QCL-Types maybe defined based on combination of one or large-scale properties.

In various embodiments, spatial RX parameters may include one or moreof: angle of arrival (“AoA”), dominant AoA, average AoA, angular spread,power angular spectrum (“PAS”) of AoA, average angle of departure(“AoD”), PAS of AoD, transmit and/or receive channel correlation,transmit and/or receive beamforming, and/or spatial channel correlation.

In certain embodiments, QCL-TypeA, QCL-TypeB, and QCL-TypeC may beapplicable for all carrier frequencies, but QCL-TypeD may be applicableonly in higher carrier frequencies (e.g., mmWave, FR2, and beyond),where the UE may not be able to perform omni-directional transmission(e.g., the UE would need to form beams for directional transmission).For a QCL-TypeD between two reference signals A and B, the referencesignal A is considered to be spatially co-located with reference signalB and the UE may assume that the reference signals A and B can bereceived with the same spatial filter (e.g., with the same RXbeamforming weights).

In some embodiments, an “antenna port” may be a logical port that maycorrespond to a beam (e.g., resulting from beamforming) or maycorrespond to a physical antenna on a device. In certain embodiments, aphysical antenna may map directly to a single antenna port in which anantenna port corresponds to an actual physical antenna. In variousembodiments, a set of physical antennas, a subset of physical antennas,an antenna set, an antenna array, or an antenna sub-array may be mappedto one or more antenna ports after applying complex weights and/or acyclic delay to the signal on each physical antenna. The physicalantenna set may have antennas from a single module or panel or frommultiple modules or panels. The weights may be fixed as in an antennavirtualization scheme, such as cyclic delay diversity (“CDD”). Aprocedure used to derive antenna ports from physical antennas may bespecific to a device implementation and transparent to other devices.

In certain embodiments, a transmission configuration indicator (“TCI”)state (“TCI-state”) associated with a target transmission may indicateparameters for configuring a quasi-co-location relationship between thetarget transmission (e.g., target RS of demodulation (“DM”) referencesignal (“RS”) (“DM-RS”) ports of the target transmission during atransmission occasion) and a source reference signal (e.g.,synchronization signal block (“SSB”), CSI-RS, and/or sounding referencesignal (“SRS”)) with respect to quasi co-location type parametersindicated in a corresponding TCI state. The TCI describes whichreference signals are used as a QCL source, and what QCL properties maybe derived from each reference signal. A device may receive aconfiguration of a plurality of transmission configuration indicatorstates for a serving cell for transmissions on the serving cell. In someembodiments, a TCI state includes at least one source RS to provide areference (e.g., UE assumption) for determining QCL and/or a spatialfilter.

In some embodiments, spatial relation information associated with atarget transmission may indicate a spatial setting between a targettransmission and a reference RS (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, and/or SRS). Forexample, a UE may transmit a target transmission with the same spatialdomain filter used for receiving a reference RS (e.g., DL RS such as SSBand/or CSI-RS). In another example, a UE may transmit a targettransmission with the same spatial domain transmission filter used forthe transmission of a RS (e.g., UL RS such as SRS). A UE may receive aconfiguration of multiple spatial relation information configurationsfor a serving cell for transmissions on a serving cell.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method700 for configuring repeater-assisted communication. In someembodiments, the method 700 is performed by an apparatus, such as thenetwork unit 104. In certain embodiments, the method 700 may beperformed by a processor executing program code, for example, amicrocontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, an auxiliary processingunit, a FPGA, or the like.

In various embodiments, the method 700 includes transmitting 702, from afirst network node, an indication of repeater-assisted communication toa second network node and a third network node. In some embodiments, themethod 700 includes transmitting 704 configuration information to thesecond network node and the third network node. The configurationinformation includes control information that corresponds to whether thesecond network node and the third network node are turned on or turnedoff, the control information corresponding to whether the second networknode and the third network node are turned on or turned off iscorrelated, the control information identifies timing information forthe second network node and the third network node, and the timinginformation indicates whether the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are expected to transmit a signal received at the secondnetwork node and the third network node at a prior time to the firstnetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node. In someembodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver, the secondnetwork node and the third network node are user equipment nodes of afirst type, and the fourth network node is a user equipment node of asecond type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof. In one embodiment, thecorrelation between the control information corresponding to the secondnetwork node and the control information corresponding to the thirdnetwork node comprises the second network node and the third networknode being configured with being turned ON in an alternating order, overnon-overlapping time slots, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number. In someembodiments, the control information is configured with a time-domainbehavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising: a periodictime-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, an aperiodictime-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domain behavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof. In one embodiment, the second network node and thethird network node jointly communicate with the fourth network node totransmit two sets of layers to the fourth network node corresponding toat least one codeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node. In some embodiments, thecorrelation between the control information corresponding to the secondnetwork node and the control information corresponding to the thirdnetwork node comprises the second network node and the third networknode being configured to be turned ON simultaneously, to be overoverlapping time slots, with configuration timing for the second networknode and the third network node being the same, or some combinationthereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups. In one embodiment, the fourth network node isconfigured with multi-node transmission, reception, or a combinationthereof corresponding to at least two nodes selected from a groupcomprising the first network node, the second network node, and thethird network node, and is expected to be configured with a repetitionscheme configuration corresponding to a frequency division multiplexingscheme, or a time division multiplexing scheme in a physical downlinkshared channel configuration, a physical downlink control channelconfiguration, a physical uplink shared channel configuration, aphysical uplink control channel configuration, or some combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same channel state information reference signal resourceidentifier corresponding to a strongest beam corresponding to a maximumlayer-one reference signal received power, a maximum layer-1 signal tointerference and noise ratio, and wherein the second node and the thirdnode are not expected to be configured to be turned ON over overlappingslots. In certain embodiments, at least one channel state informationreference signal resource indicator corresponds to one or more channelstate information reference signal resources, and wherein the secondnetwork node and the third network node are not expected to beconfigured to be turned ON over overlapping time slots if: the secondnetwork node is configured with a beam corresponding to a channel stateinformation reference signal resource that is indicated within thechannel state information reference signal resource indicatorcorresponding to the third network node; the third network node isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a channel state informationreference signal resource that is indicated within the channel stateinformation reference signal resource indicator corresponding to thesecond network node; or some combination thereof.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another embodiment of amethod 800 for configuring repeater-assisted communication. In someembodiments, the method 800 is performed by an apparatus, such as thenetwork unit 104. In certain embodiments, the method 800 may beperformed by a processor executing program code, for example, amicrocontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, an auxiliary processingunit, a FPGA, or the like.

In various embodiments, the method 800 includes receiving 802, at arepeater network node, an indication of repeater-assisted communication.In some embodiments, the method 800 includes receiving 804 configurationinformation. The configuration information includes control informationthat corresponds to whether a first repeater node and a second repeaternode are turned on or turned off are correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the a network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node. In someembodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver, the secondnetwork node and the third network node are user equipment nodes of afirst type, and the fourth network node is a user equipment node of asecond type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof. In one embodiment, thecorrelation between the control information corresponding to the secondnetwork node and the control information corresponding to the thirdnetwork node comprises the second network node and the third networknode being configured with being turned ON in an alternating order, overnon-overlapping time slots, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number. In someembodiments, the control information is configured with a time-domainbehavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising: a periodictime-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, an aperiodictime-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domain behavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof. In one embodiment, the second network node and thethird network node jointly communicate with the fourth network node totransmit two sets of layers to the fourth network node corresponding toat least one codeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node. In some embodiments, thecorrelation between the control information corresponding to the secondnetwork node and the control information corresponding to the thirdnetwork node comprises the second network node and the third networknode being configured to be turned ON simultaneously, to be overoverlapping time slots, with configuration timing for the second networknode and the third network node being the same, or some combinationthereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups. In one embodiment, the fourth network node isconfigured with multi-node transmission, reception, or a combinationthereof corresponding to at least two nodes selected from a groupcomprising the first network node, the second network node, and thethird network node, and is expected to be configured with a repetitionscheme configuration corresponding to a frequency division multiplexingscheme, or a time division multiplexing scheme in a physical downlinkshared channel configuration, a physical downlink control channelconfiguration, a physical uplink shared channel configuration, aphysical uplink control channel configuration, or some combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same corresponding to a maximum layer-one reference signalreceived power, a maximum layer-1 signal to interference and noiseratio, and wherein the second node and the third node are not expectedto be configured to be turned ON over overlapping slots. In certainembodiments, at least one channel state information reference signalresource indicator corresponds to one or more channel state informationreference signal resources, and wherein the second network node and thethird network node are not expected to be configured to be turned ONover overlapping time slots if: the second network node is configuredwith a beam corresponding to a channel state information referencesignal resource that is indicated within the channel state informationreference signal resource indicator corresponding to the third networknode; the third network node is configured with a beam corresponding toa channel state information reference signal resource that is indicatedwithin the channel state information reference signal resource indicatorcorresponding to the second network node; or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, a method of a first network node comprises:transmitting an indication of repeater-assisted communication to asecond network node and a third network node; and transmittingconfiguration information to the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, wherein the configuration information comprises controlinformation that corresponds to whether the second network node and thethird network node are turned on or turned off, the control informationcorresponding to whether the second network node and the third networknode are turned on or turned off is correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the first network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node.

In some embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are user equipmentnodes of a first type, and the fourth network node is a user equipmentnode of a second type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured with being turned ON inan alternating order, over non-overlapping time slots, or a combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number.

In some embodiments, the control information is configured with atime-domain behavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising:a periodic time-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, anaperiodic time-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domainbehavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodejointly communicate with the fourth network node to transmit two sets oflayers to the fourth network node corresponding to at least onecodeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node.

In some embodiments, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured to be turned ONsimultaneously, to be over overlapping time slots, with configurationtiming for the second network node and the third network node being thesame, or some combination thereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups.

In one embodiment, the fourth network node is configured with multi-nodetransmission, reception, or a combination thereof corresponding to atleast two nodes selected from a group comprising the first network node,the second network node, and the third network node, and is expected tobe configured with a repetition scheme configuration corresponding to afrequency division multiplexing scheme, or a time division multiplexingscheme in a physical downlink shared channel configuration, a physicaldownlink control channel configuration, a physical uplink shared channelconfiguration, a physical uplink control channel configuration, or somecombination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.

In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same channel state information reference signal resourceidentifier corresponding to a strongest beam corresponding to a maximumlayer-one reference signal received power, a maximum layer-1 signal tointerference and noise ratio, and wherein the second node and the thirdnode are not expected to be configured to be turned ON over overlappingslots.

In certain embodiments, at least one channel state information referencesignal resource indicator corresponds to one or more channel stateinformation reference signal resources, and wherein the second networknode and the third network node are not expected to be configured to beturned ON over overlapping time slots if: the second network node isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a channel state informationreference signal resource that is indicated within the channel stateinformation reference signal resource indicator corresponding to thethird network node; the third network node is configured with a beamcorresponding to a channel state information reference signal resourcethat is indicated within the channel state information reference signalresource indicator corresponding to the second network node; or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a first network node. Theapparatus further comprises: a transmitter that: transmits an indicationof repeater-assisted communication to a second network node and a thirdnetwork node; and transmits configuration information to the secondnetwork node and the third network node, wherein the configurationinformation comprises control information that corresponds to whether asecond network node and a third network node are turned on or turned offare correlated, the control information identifies timing informationfor the second network node and the third network node, and the timinginformation indicates whether the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are expected to transmit a signal received at the secondnetwork node and the third network node at a prior time to the firstnetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node.

In some embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are user equipmentnodes of a first type, and the fourth network node is a user equipmentnode of a second type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured with being turned ON inan alternating order, over non-overlapping time slots, or a combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number.

In some embodiments, the control information is configured with atime-domain behavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising:a periodic time-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, anaperiodic time-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domainbehavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodejointly communicate with the fourth network node to transmit two sets oflayers to the fourth network node corresponding to at least onecodeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node.

In some embodiments, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured to be turned ONsimultaneously, to be over overlapping time slots, with configurationtiming for the second network node and the third network node being thesame, or some combination thereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups.

In one embodiment, the fourth network node is configured with multi-nodetransmission, reception, or a combination thereof corresponding to atleast two nodes selected from a group comprising the first network node,the second network node, and the third network node, and is expected tobe configured with a repetition scheme configuration corresponding to afrequency division multiplexing scheme, or a time division multiplexingscheme in a physical downlink shared channel configuration, a physicaldownlink control channel configuration, a physical uplink shared channelconfiguration, a physical uplink control channel configuration, or somecombination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.

In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same corresponding to a maximum layer-one reference signalreceived power, a maximum layer-1 signal to interference and noiseratio, and wherein the second node and the third node are not expectedto be configured to be turned ON over overlapping slots.

In certain embodiments, at least one channel state information referencesignal resource indicator corresponds to one or more channel stateinformation reference signal resources, and wherein the second networknode and the third network node are not expected to be configured to beturned ON over overlapping time slots if: the second network node isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a channel state informationreference signal resource that is indicated within the channel stateinformation reference signal resource indicator corresponding to thethird network node; the third network node is configured with a beamcorresponding to a channel state information reference signal resourcethat is indicated within the channel state information reference signalresource indicator corresponding to the second network node; or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, a method of a repeater network node comprises:receiving an indication of repeater-assisted communication; andreceiving configuration information, wherein the configurationinformation comprises control information that corresponds to whether afirst repeater node and a second repeater node are turned on or turnedoff are correlated, the control information identifies timinginformation for the second network node and the third network node, andthe timing information indicates whether the second network node and thethird network node are expected to transmit a signal received at thesecond network node and the third network node at a prior time to the anetwork node, a fourth network node, or a combination thereof based onthe configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node.

In some embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are user equipmentnodes of a first type, and the fourth network node is a user equipmentnode of a second type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured with being turned ON inan alternating order, over non-overlapping time slots, or a combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number.

In some embodiments, the control information is configured with atime-domain behavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising:a periodic time-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, anaperiodic time-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domainbehavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodejointly communicate with the fourth network node to transmit two sets oflayers to the fourth network node corresponding to at least onecodeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node.

In some embodiments, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured to be turned ONsimultaneously, to be over overlapping time slots, with configurationtiming for the second network node and the third network node being thesame, or some combination thereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups.

In one embodiment, the fourth network node is configured with multi-nodetransmission, reception, or a combination thereof corresponding to atleast two nodes selected from a group comprising the first network node,the second network node, and the third network node, and is expected tobe configured with a repetition scheme configuration corresponding to afrequency division multiplexing scheme, or a time division multiplexingscheme in a physical downlink shared channel configuration, a physicaldownlink control channel configuration, a physical uplink shared channelconfiguration, a physical uplink control channel configuration, or somecombination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.

In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same channel state information reference signal resourceidentifier corresponding to a strongest beam corresponding to a maximumlayer-one reference signal received power, a maximum layer-1 signal tointerference and noise ratio, and wherein the second node and the thirdnode are not expected to be configured to be turned ON over overlappingslots.

In certain embodiments, at least one channel state information referencesignal resource indicator corresponds to one or more channel stateinformation reference signal resources, and wherein the second networknode and the third network node are not expected to be configured to beturned ON over overlapping time slots if: the second network node isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a channel state informationreference signal resource that is indicated within the channel stateinformation reference signal resource indicator corresponding to thethird network node; the third network node is configured with a beamcorresponding to a channel state information reference signal resourcethat is indicated within the channel state information reference signalresource indicator corresponding to the second network node; or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a repeater network node. Theapparatus further comprises: a receiver that: receives an indication ofrepeater-assisted communication; and receives configuration information,wherein the configuration information comprises control information thatcorresponds to whether a first repeater node and a second repeater nodeare turned on or turned off are correlated, the control informationidentifies timing information for the second network node and the thirdnetwork node, and the timing information indicates whether the secondnetwork node and the third network node are expected to transmit asignal received at the second network node and the third network node ata prior time to the a network node, a fourth network node, or acombination thereof based on the configuration information.

In certain embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are repeater nodes,and the fourth network node is a user equipment node.

In some embodiments, the first network node is a network transceiver,the second network node and the third network node are user equipmentnodes of a first type, and the fourth network node is a user equipmentnode of a second type.

In various embodiments, the indication of repeater-assistedcommunication is based on: downlink control information with a specifiedformat, wherein the downlink control information comprises an indicatorcorresponding to whether the second network node, the third networknode, or a combination thereof are turned on or turned off; a controlinformation signal that corresponds to communication between a networknode and a repeater node; a higher-layer parameter; a controlinformation sequence that does not include symbols of a demodulationreference signal; or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured with being turned ON inan alternating order, over non-overlapping time slots, or a combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, the alternating order is based on a repeateridentification number, and each of the second network node and the thirdnetwork node are configured with an identification number.

In some embodiments, the control information is configured with atime-domain behavior set to a behavior selected from a group comprising:a periodic time-domain behavior with a configured periodicity, anaperiodic time-domain behavior, and a semi-persistent time-domainbehavior.

In various embodiments, the second network node, the third network node,or a combination thereof are configured with discontinuous reception,connected mode discontinuous reception, or a combination thereof, thesecond network node, the third network node, or the combination thereofare further configured with a discontinuous reception cycle, anon-duration timer, a discontinuous reception inactivity timer, or somecombination thereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodejointly communicate with the fourth network node to transmit two sets oflayers to the fourth network node corresponding to at least onecodeword.

In certain embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode forward signals corresponding to two sets of physical downlinkshared channel layers corresponding to the two repeaters, and channelstate information reference signal symbols corresponding to two channelstate information reference signal resources are forwarded via thesecond network node and the third network node.

In some embodiments, the correlation between the control informationcorresponding to the second network node and the control informationcorresponding to the third network node comprises the second networknode and the third network node being configured to be turned ONsimultaneously, to be over overlapping time slots, with configurationtiming for the second network node and the third network node being thesame, or some combination thereof.

In various embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and is expected to be configured with a transmission configurationindication codepoint corresponding to two transmission configurationindication states corresponding to demodulation reference signals for aphysical downlink shared channel from different code divisionmultiplexing groups.

In one embodiment, the fourth network node is configured with multi-nodetransmission, reception, or a combination thereof corresponding to atleast two nodes selected from a group comprising the first network node,the second network node, and the third network node, and is expected tobe configured with a repetition scheme configuration corresponding to afrequency division multiplexing scheme, or a time division multiplexingscheme in a physical downlink shared channel configuration, a physicaldownlink control channel configuration, a physical uplink shared channelconfiguration, a physical uplink control channel configuration, or somecombination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the fourth network node is configured withmulti-node transmission, reception, or a combination thereofcorresponding to at least two nodes selected from a group comprising thefirst network node, the second network node, and the third network node,and wherein the fourth network node: is expected to be configured with achannel state information reporting configuration corresponding to amulti-transmission and reception point transmission scheme, wherein achannel state information reference signal resource set for channelmeasurement associated with the channel state information reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one of the first network node, the second network node,and the third network node, corresponding to a single channel stateinformation reference signal resource from one resource group, or jointtransmission from at least two of the first network node, the secondnetwork node, and the third network node, corresponding to a channelstate information reference signal resource pair from the two resourcegroups, and the indication is in a form of a channel state informationreference signal resource identifier; or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, in response to the second network node and thethird network node being configured with a single frequency networkscheme for a physical downlink shared channel, a physical downlinkcontrol channel, or a combination thereof, the second network node andthe third network node are expected to be configured with the samecontrol information, and the second network node and the third networknode are configured with different channel state information referencesignal resources configured with tracking reference signal information.

In various embodiments, the second network node and the third networknode feed back a channel state information reference signal resourceindicator comprising a channel state information reference signalresource identifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, alayer-1 signal to interference and noise ratio, or some combinationthereof.

In one embodiment, the second network node and the third network nodereport a same corresponding to a maximum layer-one reference signalreceived power, a maximum layer-1 signal to interference and noiseratio, and wherein the second node and the third node are not expectedto be configured to be turned ON over overlapping slots.

In certain embodiments, at least one channel state information referencesignal resource indicator corresponds to one or more channel stateinformation reference signal resources, and wherein the second networknode and the third network node are not expected to be configured to beturned ON over overlapping time slots if: the second network node isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a channel state informationreference signal resource that is indicated within the channel stateinformation reference signal resource indicator corresponding to thethird network node; the third network node is configured with a beamcorresponding to a channel state information reference signal resourcethat is indicated within the channel state information reference signalresource indicator corresponding to the second network node; or somecombination thereof.

Embodiments may be practiced in other specific forms. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

1. A method of a network node, the method comprising: transmitting anindication of repeater-assisted communication to at least one repeaternode; and further transmitting configuration information, to the atleast one repeater node, comprising control information that correspondsto whether the at least one repeater node is turned on or turned off,the control information identifying timing information for the at leastone repeater node, and the timing information indicating whether the atleast one repeater node is expected to transmit a signal received at theat least one repeater node at a prior time to the network node, a userequipment (UE) node, or a combination thereof based on the configurationinformation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each repeater node of theat least one repeater node is identified with an identification number.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one repeater nodecomprises two repeater nodes.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thecontrol information corresponding to a first of the two repeater nodesand the control information corresponding to a second of the tworepeater nodes configure the two repeater nodes with being turned on inan alternating order, over non-overlapping time slots, or a combinationthereof.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the alternating order isbased on a repeater identification number, and each of a second networknode and a third network node are configured with an identificationnumber.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein a first of the two repeaternodes and a second of the two repeater nodes jointly communicate withthe UE node to transmit two sets of layers to the UE node correspondingto at least one codeword.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first ofthe two repeater nodes and the second of the two repeater nodes forwardsignals corresponding to two sets of physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) layers, and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)symbols corresponding to two CSI-RS resources are forwarded via thefirst of the two repeater nodes and the second of the two repeaternodes.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the control informationcorresponding to the first of the two repeater nodes and the controlinformation corresponding to the second of the two repeater nodesconfigures the two repeater nodes to be turned on simultaneously, to beover overlapping time slots, with configuration timing for the first ofthe two repeater node and the second of the two repeater nodes being thesame, or a combination thereof.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the UEnode is configured with multi-node transmission, reception, or acombination thereof corresponding to at least two nodes selected from agroup comprising the network node, and the two repeater nodes, and isexpected to be configured with a transmission configuration indication(TCI) codepoint corresponding to two TCI states corresponding todemodulation reference signals (DMRS) for a PDSCH from different codedivision multiplexing (CDM) groups.
 10. The method of claim 6, whereinthe UE node is configured with multi-node transmission, reception, or acombination thereof corresponding to at least two nodes selected from agroup comprising the network node, and the two repeater nodes, and isexpected to be configured with a repetition scheme configurationcorresponding to a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) scheme, or atime division multiplexing (TDM) scheme in a PDSCH configuration, aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration, a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration, a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH) configuration, or a combination thereof.
 11. The methodof claim 6, wherein the UE node is configured with multi-nodetransmission, reception, or a combination thereof corresponding to atleast two nodes selected from a group comprising the network node, andthe two repeater nodes, and wherein the UE node: is expected to beconfigured with a channel state information (CSI) reportingconfiguration corresponding to a multi-transmission and reception point(TRP) transmission scheme, wherein a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS)resource set for channel measurement associated with the CSI reportingconfiguration is configured with two resource groups and at least oneresource pair; is expected to feed back an indication to the networkindicating a preference of a hypothesis from a set of multiplehypotheses, the set of multiple hypotheses corresponds to a single-pointtransmission via one node of the network node, and the two repeaternodes, corresponding to a single CSI-RS resource from one resourcegroup, or joint transmission from at least two nodes of the networknode, and the two repeater nodes, corresponding to a CSI-RS resourcepair from the two resource groups, and the indication is in a form of aCSI-RS resource identifier; or a combination thereof.
 12. The method ofclaim 6, wherein, in response to the two repeater nodes being configuredwith a single frequency network scheme for a PDSCH, a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH), or a combination thereof, the two repeaternodes are expected to be configured with the same control information,and the two repeater nodes are configured with different channel stateinformation reference signal (CSI-RS) resources configured with trackingreference signal (TRS) information.
 13. The method of claim 3, whereinthe two repeater nodes feed back a channel state information referencesignal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI) comprising a CSI-RS resourceidentifier, a layer-1 reference signal received power, a layer-1 signalto interference and noise ratio, or some combination thereof.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the two repeater nodes report a same CRIcorresponding to a strongest beam corresponding to a maximum layer-onereference signal received power, a maximum layer-1 signal tointerference and noise ratio, and wherein the two repeater nodes are notexpected to be configured to be turned on over overlapping slots. 15.The method of claim 13, wherein at least CRI corresponds to one or moreCSI-RS resources, and wherein the two repeater nodes are not expected tobe configured to be turned on over overlapping time slots if: a first ofthe two repeater nodes is configured with a beam corresponding to aCSI-RS resource that is indicated within the CRI corresponding to thesecond of the two repeater nodes; a second of the two repeater nodes isconfigured with a beam corresponding to a CSI-RS resource that isindicated within the CRI corresponding to the first of the two repeaternodes; or a combination thereof.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein theindication of repeater-assisted communication is based on: downlinkcontrol information (DCI) with a specified format, wherein the DCIcomprises an indicator corresponding to whether the repeater node isturned on or turned off; a control information signal that correspondsto communication between the network node and the repeater node; ahigher-layer parameter; a control information sequence that does notinclude symbols of a demodulation reference signal; or a combinationthereof.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the control information isconfigured with a time-domain behavior set to a behavior selected from agroup comprising: a periodic time-domain behavior with a configuredperiodicity, an aperiodic time-domain behavior, and a semi-persistenttime-domain behavior.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the repeaternode is configured with discontinuous reception (DRX), connected modeDRX, or a combination thereof, the repeater node is further configuredwith a DRX cycle, an on-duration timer, a discontinuous receptioninactivity timer, or a combination thereof.
 19. An apparatus forwireless communication, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and amemory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructionsexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit anindication of repeater-assisted communication to at least one repeaternode; and further transmit configuration information, to the at leastone repeater node, comprising control information that corresponds towhether the at least one repeater node is turned on or turned off, thecontrol information identifying timing information for the at least onerepeater node, and the timing information indicating whether the atleast one repeater node is expected to transmit a signal received at theat least one repeater node at a prior time to the apparatus, a userequipment (UE) node, or a combination thereof based on the configurationinformation.
 20. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatuscomprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, thememory comprising instructions executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to: receive an indication of repeater-assisted communicationfrom a network node; and receive configuration information, from thenetwork node, comprising control information that corresponds to whetherat least one repeater node is turned on or turned off, the controlinformation identifying timing information for the at least one repeaternode, and the timing information indicating whether the at least onerepeater node is expected to transmit a signal received at the at leastone repeater node at a prior time to the network node, a user equipment(UE) node, or a combination thereof based on the configurationinformation.